Concrete-mold



A. S. GREENE.

CONCRETE MOLD.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26,1919.

Patented Dec. 16,1919.

.NTQMLN. N RQ WLN MA M UNITED STATES PATENT oEEro ARTHUR s. GREENE, or No 'rH-MinWAu EE, isconsin.

ooivcnE'rE-Mo' n. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filedJ'uly 26. 1919. Serial No. 313.577.

To all whom it may cohcem: M

Be it known that I, ARTHUR S. G iEENE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at North Milwaukee, county 'of Milwaukee, v and State of lvisconsm, have inventednew and useful Improvements. in Concrete Molds, of which the following is a-specification.

My invention relates to improvements in concrete molds, with particular reference to that ,class of molds which areadaptedj to be vertically adjusted while a concrete Wallis in' process of construction, whereby successive units of the wall may be .erected, iand the mold raised. to erect anotherfunit in superposed relation thereto, the mold being also adapted to be shifted longitudinally, whereby a horizontal courseof concrete blocks may be constructed, and .then.the

mold raised and another course erected upon the first course.v i V, i I

The object of my invention is to provide means vformaintaining the parallelism and vertical adjustment of the mold walls; to

provide improved means for expanding and contracting the outer walls to facilitate the withdrawal of the mold from the freshly filled concrete; to provide improvedmeans for adjusting, the outer walls of the mold at different distances from the central core,

and from each other, whereby the thickness of the wall may be increased or diminished at pleasure; to provide means whereby the force applied to the respective walls to draw them into a position to receive the concrete may be not only equalized, but the movement of the walls under the pressureof the adj usting devices may be positively stopped when such walls reach a position of parallelism in vertical planes; and to simplify the structure of the moldwhile increasing its durability and serviceability, and reducing the cost of construction.

In the drawings Figure l is an end elevation of a cancrete nold embodying my invention, showing the same in position for use in forming asu-perposed block or course upon the wall 0f. a building. Fig. 2is asideelevation. r Fig. 3 isa detail sectional view, on :line 33 of Fig. 1.

Like parts are identified by the once characters throughout the several. views. The side walls 1 and 2 of, my improved moldmay' be formed of any suitable mate rial, either wood or metal. It is not material to the invention herein disclosed whether end walls are employed or not, it being possible to mix the vconcrete thick enough so that end walls areinot required, except at the respective ends of the course, i. 6., at the ends of the building wall, vat which points. any suitable means for blocking the channel between the side walls or plates 1 and 2 may be employed.

.Each of the walls 1 and 2 is secured to a set of vertically disposed rods 3 and 4,

respectively. These rods are preferably formed of steel or other resilient material,

and are secured to the walls near the to and bottom by staples or bolts 6, The ro s Patented Dec. 16, 1919. 5

3'and at extendupwardly from the respective sides of the mold to a substantial distance above the mold, where they are elbowed, as shown at 8, with their end portions 9 projecting inwardly, each in the direction of the other, andin a substantially horizontal position, whereby they may be received within a tube 10 having set screws '11, adapted, when turned down upon the end portions 9 of the rods,- to anchor the rods within the sleeve ,or tube 10. The portions 9 of the rods and also. the sleeve 10 are of sufficient length to allow the desired adjust downwardly extending portionsor legs to which the wallv plates 1 and 2 are attached tend to normally spring outwardly from a vertical position, with the lower end por tions diverging from each other, thereby holding-the walls 1 and 2 with their lower margins separated to a greater extent than their upper margins, the rods and the wall plates being'drawn intovertical positions by the adjusting mechanism, which will now be described in-c gmngzction with the central core V, V

:flhe central core 1 2 preferably comprises a solid block of material, which is made slightly wedge-shaped, the side walls, and, if desired, the end:walls also, converging downwardly to facilitate a vertical withdrawal of this core piece or block after the mold has been filled with concrete. Near each end the block 12 is provided with a set of transverse apertures 14% and 15, through which sleeves 16 and 17 pass, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The sleeve 16 is provided at one end with a head piece 17 having an elongated a erture or slot 18, through which the rod 1 passes, the slot extending trai'isversely of the mold, or longitudinally of the sleeve 16. A set screw 20, preferably provided with a crank 21, has threaded engagement in the end of the head 17, with its inner end projecting into the slot 18, and adapted to engage the rod 4: to lock the latter in position, and also to apply pressure thereto to draw it into a vertical position, and simultaneously apply equal iii-drawing pressure upon the rod 3, through the medium of a cooperating telescoping rod having an aperture 23, through which the rod 3 passes, the rod 22 being adjustable within the sleeve 16, and being secured in the desired position of adjustment by a set screw 25.

The rods 2'? and28 are provided with slotted heads 29, through which the rods 3 and 1- pass, the heads 29 being anchored loosely to the rods 3 and e by collars 30. The inner end portions or these rods 27 and 28 are telescopingly adjustable within the sleeve 17, and are secured in the desired position of adjustment by set screws these set screws being loosened only when the set screws 11 are loosened, for the purpose of increasing the width of the mold, as above explained.

.The supporting and adjusting members above described and illustrated in Fig. 1, are duplicated at the other end of the mold, as shown in Fig. 2, the number of sets of bars 3 and d and associated parts employed for any given mold being dependent upon the length of the mold, and to some extent upon the character of the material employed for the side walls 1 and 2. If the side walls are sufficiently rigid the short mold will require supporting and adjusting bars 3 and 41 only at its respective ends, intermediate sets of bars being employed wherever there is a tendency for the central portions of the mold walls to bulge outwardly.

When adjusting my improved mold in position for use, the walls 1 and 2, including the rods 3 and at, will be sprung outwardly, substantially in the positions indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, the lower margins of the walls and the lower ends of the rods being more widely separated than the upper margins of the walls and the rod porously. formed by the core piece 12, and said tions associated therewith. Therefore, if a portion of the building wall has already been erected, tie rods or bars 35 will be ad justed across the central cavity 86, previcore piece will then be supported upon these tie rods or bars 35, as shown in Fig. 1. After the mold has been accurately adjusted, the crank 21 will then be operated to push rod 4: toward the inner end of the slot 18, and to simultaneously draw rod 3 inwardly to an equal extent until both rods are ad-- justed to a substantially vertical position, parallel with each other. The slots in the heads 29 of the rods or bars 27 and 28 allow the rods to be thus drawn inwardly without changing the adjustment of said rods 27 and 28 in the sleeve 17. The inner ends or walls of the slots limit the inward movement of the rods, and serve as gages, whereby the fact that the rods have reached vertical or parallel positions may be ascertained by the resistance afforded to theoperation of theset screw 20, without inspection. As soon'as the wafls 1 and 2 have thus been properly adjusted in vertical planes, with their lower margins bracing the previously formed building wall, the mold can be filled. When filled, and the material properly tamped, it may be allowed to take an initial set, or, if sui'hciently dry, the mold walls may be immediately removed by turning the set screw 20 to releasing position, and allowing the walls to spring outwardlyto the dotted line position. There-upon, the mold can be lifted vertically to withdraw the tapering core 12, and readjusting it at the point where the next block or course is to be formed. No adjustments or" the set screws 11, 25 or 32 will be required, except for portions of the wall which require increased thickness, or in cases where the mold is to be used on another wall which differs in thickness.

Owing to the fact that the core piece 12 11 has at least two apertures at each end, through which the sleeves 16 and 17 pass, it is obvious that the mold, including the core, may be lifted and carried from place to place by means of the sleeves 10, and when adjusted in position for use, it is merely necessary to properly place the core 12, whereupon the other parts of the mold will be supported therefrom in proper position, preparatory to the operation of the 12 crank 21 and screwv20.

I claim 1. A mold for concrete work, including the combination of a set of side walls,overhead cross bars and rods supporting the side Walls from said cross bars, of sets of intermediate cross bars connecting said rods, and means for increasing and diminishing the length of one cross bar of each intermediate set to swing the rods inwardly or outwardly,

said rods being free for limited independent movement relatively to the other intermediate cross bars.

2. A mold for concrete work, including the combination of a set of side walls, overhead cross bars and rods supporting the side walls from said cross bars, of sets of intermediate cross bars connecting said rods, means for increasing and diminishing the length of one cross bar of each intermediate set to swing the rods inwardly or outwardly, said rods being free for limited independent movement relatively to the other intermediate cross bars, and a downwardly tapering core piece, provided with apertures through which said intermediate cross bars ass. l 3. A mold for concrete work provided with resiliently expansible side walls having overhead connection with each other above the mold, and adapted to swing outwardly to divergent positions from the ends of the overhead connections as centers, and intermediate connections adapted to be manually actuated to draw the side walls into parallel planes.

4:. A mold for concrete work, provided with side walls, a set of rods secured to each side wall, and extending upwardly above the wall, with the upper ends of the rods elbowed and extended horizontally toward the vertical center line of the mold, sleeves within which said horizontal rods telescope, and are adjustably anchored, and means for actuating the depending portions of said rods to adjust the mold walls in vertical planes.

5. A mold for concrete work, provided with side walls having upwardly extending rods with inwardly extending horizontal end portions, adjustably connected with each other, an adjustable cross connection between the depending portions or" said rod, and pro vided with slotted head pieces through which said rods pass, a cooperating cross connection having an apertured head to receive one of the rods, a slotted head to receive the other rod, and a manually operable set screw, having its inner end within said slot, and adapted to force the associated rod against the inner end wall .of the slot, whereby the rods and associated mold walls may be adjusted to vertical positions.

6. A mold for concrete work, provided with side walls having upwardly extending rods with inwardly extending horizontal end portions, adjustably connected with each other, an adjustable cross connection between the depending portions of said rod, and provided with slotted head pieces through which said rods pass, a cooperating cross connection having an apertured head to receive one of the rods, and a slotted head to receive the other rod, a manually operable set screw, having its inner end within said slot, adapted to force the associated rod against the inner end wall of the slot, whereby the rods and associated mold walls may be adjusted to vertical positions, said rods being composed of resilient material normally divergent in the lower portions;

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR S. GREENE. j

/Vitnesses:

LEVERETT C. WHEELER, 0. C. W BER. 

